Nova Scotia budget fuels protest, anger and some confusion

A protest outside of Province House is calling out the Houston government for cuts coming in the budget.

Dozens of protesters lined the snow-covered street outside the Nova Scotia legislature Wednesday afternoon to protest job and spending cuts announced in the Houston government’s latest budget.

The civil and public service will see $130 million in spending erased by the PC government this year.

Some 900 jobs are also being slashed.

Many of the cuts were felt in the communities, culture and tourism sectors.

“We lost our jobs in tourism at the airport,” Louise Salisbury told CTV News.

Salisbury along with Eleanor Leadbetter attended the protest.

Both were laid off last week when the province closed several visitor information centres.

They worked at the Halifax Stanfield International Airport tourist information office.

“We were called to a meeting and were just told that our jobs were gone immediately and we had to gather our stuff and get right out of the airport,” Salisbury said.

Inside the Legislature, Premier Tim Houston was grilled on the rational for the cuts.

“I didn’t run for office just to cut things and take things away,” Houston said. “We’re trying to focus the efficiencies, the cuts, whatever you want to call them on administration and management.

“To protect frontline services, to protect health care, to protect education, to protect housing.”

The cuts to jobs and spending will save the province $304 million this year, but opposition members of the Legislature say the list is long and many are still trying to make sense of the impact.

“These are really important to the fabric of Nova Scotia,” Nova Scotia interim Liberal Leader Iain Rankin said. “We’ve had reviews in the past that saw value in keeping these programs.”

As the Houston government looks to bring some balance to the shaky fiscal position, the cuts to government spending will continue over the next four years.

In next year’s budget, the province says it may cut $623 million in spending.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Jesse Thomas

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